South Korean stocks skid to 2-month low, won steady

Reuters Staff

2 Min Read

* For the midday report, please click

SEOUL, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Round-up of South Korean financial markets: ** South Korea’s KOSPI stock index weakened on Thursday. The Korean won held steady in the local platform while bond yields rose. ** At 06:32 GMT, the KOSPI was down 12.39 points or 0.50 percent at 2,461.98. The benchmark index finished trade at two-month low weighed by U.S. policy risks, leading foreign investors to become big net sellers. ** The won was quoted at 1,093.5 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, 0.02 percent firmer than its previous close at 1,093.7. ** In offshore trading, the won was quoted at 1,092.61 per U.S. dollar, up 0.03 percent from the previous day, while in one-year non-deliverable forwards it was being transacted at 1,087.55 per dollar. ** MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.08 percent, after U.S. stocks ended the previous session with mild losses. Japanese stocks rose 1.45 percent. ** The KOSPI is up around 22.1 percent so far this year, and down by 0.73 percent in the previous 30 days. ** The current price-to-earnings ratio is 12.10, the dividend yield is 1.28 percent and the market capitalisation is 1,242.04 trillion won. ** The trading volume during the session on the KOSPI index was 396,854,000 shares, and 169 of the 875 traded isssues advanced. ** Foreigners were net sellers of 466,025 million won worth of shares. ** The U.S dollar has fallen 9.41 percent against the won this year. The won’s high for the year is 1,075.71 per dollar on November 29 2017 and low is 1,211.8 on January 3 2017. ** In money and debt markets, December futures on three-year treasury bonds were unchanged at 108.25. ** The Korean 3-month certificate of deposit benchmark rate was quoted at 1.66 percent compared with a previous close of 1.66 percent, while the benchmark 3-year Korean treasury bond yielded 2.091 percent, higher than the previous day’s 2.08 percent. (Reporting by Dahee Kim; Editing by Eric Meijer)